Conventional grills pose many problems including the problem of storage and the problem of transportation when a grill is required for a cookout at a camp site, park, etc. Although there are grills currently available that are small and compact, they have a relatively small capacity. The grills currently available with a large capacity are cumbersome, bulky and heavy to transport.
The present invention solves all these problems by being very lightweight, approximately 30 pounds, easily erected or unfolded and folded back into its portable state, and easy to store and transport. The present invention can be erected in approximately one minute or less and folded back up into its portable state in approximately the same amount of time. The grill is provided with a handle and is easily carried like a suitcase or briefcase. The grill is flat, rectangular and compact and can be easily stored or transported. The grill has a large capacity being able to cook for 15 persons at one time, and thus being suitable for a large family cookout or other cookouts where large groups are involved. While the grill has a large capacity, it occupies little space and is relatively compact.
Conventional grill racks used on grills currently available, consist of a plurality of equispaced rounded bars. These types of grill racks allow all of the grease that is produced while cooking to drip into the coals which in turn causes the grease to splatter on the rest of the grill structure and also creates flames which heat the food unevenly or scorch the food surface. To minimize this problem, the present invention provides a grill rack with a plurality of V-shaped elongated bars that collect 60% of the grease. The grill rack is tilted so that the grease runs toward one end where a grease catcher defined by a V-shaped bar running longitudinally under the end of the plurality of V-shaped bars, collects the grease. The collection of the majority of the grease minimizes the amount that may be splattered on the grill structure, minimizing clean-up time, and reduces the amount and intensity of flames that may be created by grease dripping into the coals.
Additionally, the present invention provides a removable coal tray to simplify the disposal of the spent coals after they have cooled and to allow a person to clean the area soiled by the coals by simply cleaning the tray.